Insanely beautiful, obviously
"Emily, I – " His tone nears desperation. He had just managed to calm her down and now he's the one to make her cry. He didn't mean it, he just wanted to push her into saying something of substance, have a conversation.
"It's fine, I'm sorry, I don't even know why I'm crying." She's wiping away her tears chaotically. Rossi hates himself for making her feel this way and he wants to kick himself, because he speaks before he thinks – again.
"You and your mystery boyfriend broke up, didn't you?" She quiets mid-sniffle and faces him, a single tear running down each cheek, few more forming in her eyes.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to profile me?"
"I didn't exactly need my profiling skills for this", he tries to joke gently, but it comes out drier than he intended. He scolds himself mentally and continues, making a conscious effort to actually sound gentle this time. "You would've been together for months now, and there's absolutely nothing pointing to his existence here. It clicked when I was brushing my teeth. You have a toothbrush holder with two holes for brushes. There are toothpaste stains around both, yet only one toothbrush. Only one towel. There are no photos of him anywhere, and I didn't look in your bedroom, but I'm guessing there's not a single piece of his clothing in your closet."
"You call that not profiling?" He doesn't respond to her allegation, just looks at her with a kind of sadness. She doesn't have to say anything to confirm. He already knows. She nods anyway, and as she blinks, another tear falls down her cheek.
"What happened?" A wry smile creeps onto her face, and she lets out something between a chuckle and a snort.
"He's back with his wife." Because of course he is. He's not really surprised, but something is a little unexpected.
"Already?" When she looks at him quizzically, he continues the thought. "I would've thought it happened either sooner or much later. This feels like an odd time."
"How do you know it's an odd time? You don't even know who he is." He gives her a look that says don't I? and when she responds with an even more confused look, he sighs.
"Detective Andy Cooper."
"How?"
"I'm good at what I do." She rolls her eyes and starts wiping her face dry for the second time that night. A part of him wishes he could be the one wiping her tears dry instead, but he forces himself to stay still and offer an explanation as to how he knows who she was dating. "It was common knowledge that he was getting a divorce. You told me you're dating someone who's going through one and the timelines matched, so did the hints you gave of the distance. With this job, you don't have many chances to meet new people. And besides, he would've been crazy not to shoot his shot with you."
"What do you mean?" He winces and scrambles for an explanation.
"Uh- everyone noticed you two have chemistry." The look in her eyes tells him she's not convinced. "And you're insanely beautiful, obviously. Quite a catch." She looks down and smiles, but… Is he imagining things, or does she also blush a little?
"Oh, come on."
"It's true." He shrugs. She looks at him and shuffles a little, so her body is turned toward him.
"Ava's more beautiful." Her tone is bitter. She knows he didn't get back together with his wife simply because she's more beautiful than her. Rossi's face implies he's thinking the same.
"You know that's not – "
"I know! I just don't know what to do after a breakup", she groans, rolling her head back. The she grins, stifles a chuckle and adds: "Any tips?"
"Ha, ha. Very funny." Rossi tries his best to conjure up an unamused face. Really, he's happy to see her smiling again. He'd meant it when he called her insanely beautiful. He's desperate to keep the conversation going, so he keeps saying the first thing that pops into his head – and immediately regretting it. "What seemed to work for me was to just get into a new relationship."
"Did it really work though?" Her voice was high-pitched and laced with disbelief and laughter. "I feel like it wasn't the best solution since it brought you three divorces."
"Can't have three divorces without getting to three weddings first."
"I'm not exactly dating just for the wedding." She's still joking, but there's a hint of truth to this. He clings on this bit of sincerity as if his life depends on it. He keeps his expression light, as if he were just pondering, but he does mean every syllable of his question.
"What are you dating for?" She throws a sideways glance his way and takes a deep breath. Thinking about relationships feels awkward as the one she just ended is the longest she's ever been in.
"I don't know", she finally admits. It's somehow ironic the two of them would end up talking about relationships. Rossi, who's been married three times and dated countless people between marriages, and Emily, whose only serious relationship happened near her 40s and didn't make it to six months. "For happiness, I suppose. Stability?" She finally dares look Rossi in the eye again. "A reason to stay in one place longer than two years."
"Those… are really good reasons, actually", Rossi manages to choke out. His throat feels oddly dry and he excuses himself to reach for the glass of water he almost forgot about. She mirrors him and also sips the water she'd gotten upset with him over. He deliberately speaks when his back is still turned to her. "I think I should look for something like that, too."
"Should? What exactly have you been looking for so far?"
"Companionship, mostly."
"That doesn't sound like such a bad reason."
"It's the nice of way of saying 'I'm afraid to be alone'." He feels drawn to her eyes. It's funny, she thinks, his face is soft, but there's a harshness to his words. "It would be good for me to find someone I want to be with, not because it means I won't be alone, but because of her, because I love her."
"Didn't you love your wives?" Rossi half-expected a jab, but Emily's genuine question surprises him. The team is always bullying him for his… rich past, but for once someone expresses real interest in it without a punchline. He's secretly very happy it's her, even though it does feel a little embarrassing disclosing these kind of details to her. Why specifically her, though?
"Yes. Kind of. I think I loved being in love more than I loved them." He's never been this candid before, not even to himself, and the words feel foreign coming out of his mouth. She must notice this, because she places a tender, reassuring hand on his arm. Since he's wearing a t-shirt, it lands on bare skin, and he could swear he's never been this affected by a single hand on his arm.
"You were young. You've learned from it." Her voice is soft, and he sees a flicker of something else behind it as well. He wonders for a second, but then her body language gives it away. She yawns. "Sorry. I haven't been sleeping well lately." She doesn't ask for the time, but he checks it anyway. 1:30.
"It is getting pretty late, I should let you sleep." She grabs the remote and checks how much there is left of the movie they haven't been watching.
"There's only 30 minutes left, can we finish it?"
"Of course." Rossi adjusts his position to a more horizontal one to maximise his comfort for the remainder of the movie.
"Cool." She scoots closer to him and matches his posture, stopping to study his face before shuffling even lower and deciding she can lean her head on his shoulder. He smiles down at her and shifts them so he can bring his arm around her. They sit like this for a minute or so, before she brings an arm over his torso in a hug of sorts. "Thank you, Dave." She hesitates before mumbling his name into his shoulder. "It means a lot that you're here." He squeezes her gently with the arm he's wrapped around her and again the urge to kiss the top of head is absolutely irresistible. He can hear a soft "hm" that sounds like she's smiling, and he closes his eyes to savour the moment.
The rest of the movie is watched in silence. When the end credits start rolling, Dave turns to talk to Emily but finds her asleep, curled up against him. He breathes her in, not daring to move. He leans his head on hers and closes his eyes. A smile escapes to his lips as he feels her soft hair on his cheeks. The half-sitting half-laying posture is going to be hell to sleep in, but if that's what it takes to stay this close to her, he'll gladly suffer through it.
His own eyes start to feel heavy as well, he inhales deeply and in the following exhale surprises himself by whispering a buona notte, amore in Emily's hair. His brows furrow at his own words but he's too tired to stop and think of it any further. He falls asleep in seconds.
Amore?
